Paul O’Connell is up there with the great names of Irish rugby but who is his biggest supporter on the sidelines, his wife Emily?
The sportsman said I Do to Emily O’Leary more than a decade ago and the couple shares three children, whom he shares glimpses of online.
With the Limerick legend tipped to be the next Ireland coach now that Andy Farrell has named Simon Easterby in his Lions coaching team, here’s everything we know about Paul’s family life…
Saying I Do to his love, Emily
Paul and Emily said I Do in July 2013 at the Sainte-Marie Cathedral in Auch, just outside the French city of Toulouse.
They held their reception at the Chateau Lartigolle in Pessan where they were joined by rugby pals, including Ronan O’Gara and his wife Jessica as well as Donncha O’Callaghan and his wife Jenny.
Chatting about his wedding ceremony on the Potholes & Penguins podcast, Paul explained that because it was in a cathedral, members of the public were entitled to stay in and watch.
Paul recalled how on the day he went up to ‘your man’, the priest, and asked when he’d be ‘clearing out the church’ but was told he wouldn’t be.
Remembering one man in the church, Paul said: ‘It was just ridiculous but there was a guy in Connacht shorts and a Connacht polo shirt. And whenever I was kneeling down in front of the priest- whenever he caught my eye- he’d give me the thumbs-up.’
Growing their family
Three is the magic number for Paul and Emily, who are proud parents to their sons Paddy and Felix and daughter Lola.
Their youngest Felix joined the family in November 2017 and it looks like his big brother Paddy is already following in Paul’s sporting footsteps.
Paddy led his team from Limerick’s Castletroy College while Gabriel Farrell, the youngest son of rugby’s Andy Farrell, was at the front for Dublin’s Blackrock College during a match in February 2024.
Life together
While Paul is largely private about his family life online, he has spoken about his brood several times in interviews and shares the odd snap.
Speaking during the pandemic in July 2020, Paul told EVOKE that homeschooling his children had been quite the challenge… something many parents would agree with!
‘It wasn’t easy. No parent should ever have to teach their kids schoolwork,’ he said. ‘The school my kids went to were great.
‘They kind of sensed that we were waning and took up the baton themselves and started doing Zoom classes and things like that.’
Paul’s rugby career
Paul retired from professional rugby in 2016 after a hugely impressive 108 caps for Ireland, 174 for Munster, and seven for the British and Irish Lions.
Since then, he’s moved into coaching and has been on the Ireland backroom team since the beginning of 2021, where he serves as the forwards coach.
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